27th May 2022
Wedderburn Transport Planning are pleased to announce the collaboration with Loughborough University and the Oval Partnership on a Knowledge Transfer Partnership project to develop a predictive pedestrian forecasting tool to enable planning and design services for urban regeneration, master planning and to facilitate community planning engagement.
The Oval Partnership is an architecture and urban design practice actively engaged in researching and promoting sustainability, place-making, narrative-based planning, heritage conservation and community development. The Oval Partnership, through its subsidiary Wedderburn Transport Planning, currently uses footfall analytics to generate a richer and more engaging experience in mixed-use urban-scale projects. Their partnership with Loughborough University brings together leading researchers in the fields of transport planning, urban design and artificial intelligence to assist in the development of a new generation of cutting-edge, rapid, evidence-based tools.
Jonathan Pile, director of the Oval Partnership in the UK:
“As a practice, we place great emphasis on understanding a site from a range of perspectives, and on re-evaluating under-performing sites through tactical, digital and physical interventions. We believe this project will create added value for our clients, drive improvements in the social and economic integration of sites within the communities they serve, and bring incremental reductions in the environmental footprint of site operations.”
Marcus Enoch, Professor in Transport Strategy, Loughborough University:
“Improved data and forecasting tools for pedestrian footfall play a key role in a paradigm shift to encourage walking and enhance accessibility for sustainable transport modes. Improved pedestrian planning standards and tools will also bring benefits to organisations involved in community engagement on local planning issues, and we look forward to disseminating them more widely within the industry.”
This programme of work will be joint funded by UKRI through Innovate UK and the Oval Partnership. Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) aim to help businesses improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills within UK universities and knowledge bases.
